This puzzle:

Bruce Haight notes: My first try at this puzzle got sent back for poor fill. Will really liked the northwest area, so I only had to redo 75%! I don't ... more

Bruce Haight notes:

My first try at this puzzle got sent back for poor fill. Will really liked the northwest area, so I only had to redo 75%! I don't remember how I came up with the idea to do "words starting with two letter Roman numerals ending in I" as a theme, but I do remember watching "Dallas" episodes a lot back in the 80's and I remember thinking VIEWINGS was the best entry in this puzzle. My submitted clue was [Bobby, Pam, Ellie, Jock, Sue Ellen and JR?]

The idea that MISTRESSES could be 1001 causes of anxiety also struck me as pretty funny. That was two years ago, and now I would be more impressed with LIFELINES, since compound words and two-word phrases make better theme entries in general. MISTRESSES has some pretty common letters but I can't see where it has ever appeared in any major puzzle venue before. Happenstance or breakfast table test effect?

Jeff Chen notes: There have been many plays on Roman numerals in crosswords over the years, but I don't remember this exact implementation. Fun a-ha, ... more

Jeff Chen notes:

There have been many plays on Roman numerals in crosswords over the years, but I don't remember this exact implementation. Fun a-ha, realizing that MISTRESSES should be parsed as MI STRESSES (M = 1000, I = 1). My favorite was LIFELINES changing to LI FELINES (L = 50) — such a cool transformation!

Nice that Bruce used a big set of V, L, C, D, M. Would have been perfect to get X for the sake of completion, but there aren't many options starting with XI. XIA DYNASTY = 11, A DYNASTY? Um ... no.

Also would have been nice to get an arithmetic progression, going V L C D M or M D C L V, but what can you do. More important is to pick themers that produce some laughs.

Pretty good grid execution, nice bonuses in HOME LAB / IM IN AWE / PR STUNT — great triplet! — along with AW NUTS, IPHONES. It would have been great to get a few more fantastic entries outside of that snazzy NW corner. Most of the mid-length fill does a fine job, but LEAD ORE or ATE INTO aren't going to win many accolades.

A touch too much crossword glue for my taste, for an early-week puzzle. Entries like NRC (National Response Corporation? Nuclear Regulatory Commission? Natural Resources Consultants?) can be a turn-off to newer solvers, as can tough names like OMRI. CREEPO is an odd word, and some DOO ETTE rounds it out.

Given how important I think it is to hook newer solvers into the fun of crosswords, I'd much prefer constructors to err on the side of cleanliness instead of jazziness. For example, as much as I liked the colorful entries in the NW corner, I might have preferred to get just two of those great answers without the price of OMRI.

I know, I want everything! So demanding.

Great clue in DUELS — "Pacers" meaning "people who pace" instead of the Indiana Pacers.

Nice theme idea. Roman numerals have been such a gold mine for constructors; fun to see a slight twist.